Merge
by Meadie
Summary: Sequel to Encounter. Following their escape from Toshima, Shiki and Akira struggle to evade their pursuers and fight for freedom and survival. YAOI. If you take offense to yaoi, please disregard this story and continue scrolling. Togainu no Chi is the property of Nitro-Chiral and associated parties, to whom all rights to the franchise belong. Indefinite hiatus. So sorry!
1. Chapter One: Love and War

Here it is! The sequel to _Encounter_! I think that _Encounter_ has been one of my more popular stories, and is my personal favorite. So when my darling readers asked for more Shiki x Akira, I simply had to oblige. I did not like the idea of beginning another story outside of the context of _Encounter_ , considering that the ending has kind of become canon in my mind – so I decided to continue with the same "universe" as my original story. Please enjoy and review! Tally ho!

Meadie out.

{Merge}

{Chapter One: Love and War}

Akira hummed lightly in his sleep, and the sound was as sweet and refreshing as the breeze that whipped between the trees among which we sat, churning the fallen leaves from their resting places on the ground and tossing them heartlessly into the air. The bloody tint of the canopy over our heads reminded me that the world continued to revolve beyond the grimy borders of Toshima; even though that god forsaken place seemed to be trapped in some vile, inescapable dreariness that felt like perpetual winter. It felt bizarre to transition from that gargantuan grey prison of scum and mongrels to the silence of this place, though geography and an unobstructed view indicated our startling proximity to the newly reemployed war zone. The resounding echoes of gunfire could be heard from our place in the grove, as we had not made it very far, my pet's weariness from the previous night's events resurfacing as the adrenaline of escape had waned. He struggled to keep pace for quite a few excruciatingly long kilometers until I determined a place safe enough for him to obtain some dearly needed rest before continuing our exodus from Toshima.

A spry autumn breeze caused my ebony hair to fall over my face and urged me to glance up to the sun, determining that nearly an hour of sleep would have to be sufficient for Akira at the moment. It was still painfully early, the full robustness of the orange star having scarcely freed itself from the horizon as it continued to paint the expanse of the sky in rich pastels that nearly wounded my eyes with their foreign cheeriness. Grumbling, I shifted slightly, feeling the rugged texture of the maple against which I sat kneading into my shoulders with the refreshing inconsistency of that which is natural. When I moved, Akira made no effort to rouse himself as he leaned against me heavily, his back against my chest while he sat between my thighs, wild strands of grey hair splayed over my shoulder in stark contrast to my coat. I sighed at his stubbornness and pressed my lips against the exposed skin of his pale neck.

"Pet, we need to keep moving. The now is not the time for rest, you can sleep later."

He merely grumbled defiantly, his brows knitting together tightly as he attempted to sink more wholly against my frame, merging his warmth with mine and nuzzling aggressively into my chest. I began to grow irritated with his juvenile fussing and resolved to tease him into wakefulness, one of my hands drifting beneath his shirt and over the lean expanse of his stomach as the other trailed lightly along his inner thigh. A smirk pulled at my lips when he hummed and pressed absently into my ghosting touches.

"Shiki…." Akira mumbled, his voice sleepy and seductive.

"Come along," I purred against his jaw, savoring his shudder and sigh as I placed a gentle kiss beneath his ear before biting the lobe roughly, gracing the assaulted flesh with another brushing of my lips when he whimpered. "It's time to wake up, pet."

"Stop calling me _pet_ ," he rebuked quietly with a hiss.

I chuckled smugly at his comment and pressed my palm more firmly against his stiffening groin. "You may call yourself whatever you wish. But _you_ are still my pet and _I_ am still your master, _Akira_."

The grey-haired man between my legs gave a dissatisfied huff, leaning against me more dramatically as his hand covered mine and he ground his hips upwards, the texture of his taut jeans rough against my calloused fingers. Glancing up at me with tired, but lustful, eyes, Akira easily captured my attention with his glacial gaze, and I allowed his lithe digits to trail up my neck to tangle into the hair at the base of my skull, his blunt nails scratching into my scalp. He trapped my lips for a kiss, our tongues tying sensual knots as we melted together, but he soon pulled away, his words vibrating against my mouth as he spoke.

"Let's stay here, Shiki. I'm tired." His lean, muscular arms fell to his lap with a heavy huff and a groan of disappointment when I nudged him into wakefulness, nipping at his neck.

"Akira, pet. Now is not the time, we need to keep moving; because I'm certain that both the CFC and Nikkouren forces are becoming very frustrated in their attempts to find us about now. We don't want to be caught when they finally decide to cast their nets farther, do we?"

"I told you not to bite me, Shiki," Akira reprimanded with a stern glare, thick strands of grey hair falling across his face.

I could do nothing to prevent myself from laughing at his absurd, yet oddly endearing concern for my wellbeing, and he dug his elbow into my ribs as I hummed smugly, inhaling deeply and savoring his scent. "I survived taking in Nano's blood, so I doubt that a few drops of yours would do me much harm. Especially considering your past inability to dispose of me. Plus, I can't resist. It tastes so sweet, just as the rest of your body does; like honey on my tongue."

"You're so fucked up," he hissed, tensing as my gloved hand closed loosely around his throat, pulling him back against my chest firmly.

"And yet you never deny me. You love it, don't you? Don't lie to yourself."

Akira scoffed and swatted my hand away, reclining against me with satisfaction, his glacial eyes closing as he struggled to tumble once again into sleep. "Leave me alone. I'm tired."

"Up. Come along, you can rest once we find a suitable place to do so. But not until after I've tasted that body again; I'll fuck you just as you like, Akira."

"Pervert," he grumbled as he shifted to rise to his feet, freezing when I grasped his slight arousal, massaging him and savoring his flustered groan as he swatted my palm away. "Shiki… leave me alone. Stop teasing."

"No, pet," my words purred against his neck, and I could feel bumps rising on his skin when he shuddered pleasantly beneath my touch. "Sleep later."

Akira pushed me away in disappointment and stood up, dusting himself off and folding his arms over his chest defiantly. "I hate you."

"No you don't," I cooed dangerously, rising and molding my chest to his back, wrapping my arms around his small frame and pulling him to me snugly. He flinched slightly and sighed as I laid my lips against the brutal bite that Keisuke had branded him with the night before, frowning at the thought of another man attempting to steal my pet away from me. Curious, I decided to satisfy the jealous possessiveness that I refused to admit existed, though the nagging feeling was always there, churning hotly in my gut. "Akira, would you have given yourself to him? Would you have let him take you as you allow me to?"

"Shiki, what are you saying?" he asked in astonishment, turning to face me with an odd expression, still encircled by my arms.

"Would you? Answer me, Akira."

"No!" he rebuked, knitting his brows together in concern. After a moment his gaze broke away from my crimson glare, studying the fallen leaves as they skittered about on the ground, lifted and tossed away by the fickle breeze. "Maybe I would have at one time. But no. Not since that first night when you let me live. Just you now, Shiki. Nobody else."

I chuckled as he nuzzled against me, his fingers curling into my coat when I slid my hand beneath his shirt, trailing my palm over his lower back and kneading comforting circles into the sinewy muscle there. He met me for a searing kiss, our tongues and lips merging as we melted together, my digits tangling into the mess of grey hair at the base of his skull as I pulled him close. "Just me, hmm? Are you saying that you love me, Akira?" I teased with a smirk.

"No!" he scoffed as he shoved me away, but his fingers quickly wove between mine, a delicious blush tinting his angular cheeks. "Are you stupid...?"

Humming smugly, I kissed Akira's temple and tugged on his hand, urging him to follow as I collected my katana from its resting place against the proud maple behind us and strode through the grove, heading west. I could feel his thumb stroking my knuckles contently as he trailed closely on my heels, and the sensation of his pale blue eyes on my back made me uneasy in a strangely pleasant way. He squeezed my hand to draw my attention, and I tossed an inquisitive glance over my shoulder at him, waiting for him to finally express the concerns which I knew had been resting heavily in the shadowy recesses of his mind.

"Where are we going?"

"I told you that we could go where ever you desire, but seeing as you have yet to inform me of where that might be, my current priority is to make it out of Japan unnoticed."

Akira nodded and hummed in agreement, his gaze focused intently on my boots as I tugged him along, my patience growing exceptionally thin. "They're going to keep hunting us; both Nikkouren and the CFC. I'm sure they know that Nano is dead by now, but they might not be aware that we're together and they're probably going to look for us each individually."

"Naturally," I scoffed at his painfully evident observation, dismissing his foolishness as a mere side effect of exhaustion. "They are far too imbecilic to come to any such conclusion; at least not for quite some time. It's pitiful, really. They're like apes chasing smoke. Though I'm sure that apes would likely be offended by the comparison."

He snorted in weary amusement before falling into silence, following me obediently like a puppy, keeping tightly at my heels as we continued our exodus away from the cement jungle of Toshima's crumbling, putrid skyline in the distance at our backs. I found myself counting my steps diligently and for no apparent purpose, perhaps seeking out something – no matter how banal – to occupy my mind as we stalked westward. As the sun rose higher in the remarkably clear sky and our shadows grew shorter, I began to seek out a place for us to conceal ourselves for the remainder of the daylight hours to rest. It was far too unwise to continue during the day, when we could be easily seen and sought out by our pursuers. No matter, we were growing weary, and our time in Toshima had essentially rendered us both to be nocturnal, the vile smog and depressing atmosphere of that place submerging it in some form of eternal night. We had become much like the sightless fish that dwelled in the deepest chasms of the ocean, the darkness causing eyes to become entirely obsolete, rather instead enhancing the other senses to aching sensitivity. The analogy was most fitting, as the prolonged deprivation of goodness and daylight to which we had become accustomed had urged instinct to surface with surprising vigor, enhancing the chances of survival.

At last, we happened upon an abandoned bunker and opted to take up temporary residence in the monastic space, our tiredness and lack of recollection of anything considered to be luxurious making it easy to disregard the slight musty stench and the impressively thick layers of dust. This cement fortress was far older than any produced during the Third Divide, and I concluded that it had likely been constructed around the era of the Second World War, when the atrocities of battle were spread far beyond the borders of the isle of Japan. Despite its blatant outdated traits, the previous residents were conveniently fearful enough of war to update the bunker's electrical system, providing us with meager light from the single bare bulb that hung from the ceiling. There were linens for the small bed that was shoved dismissively into the corner as well as a minor supply of non-perishable provisions; none too appetizing in my opinion, but useful enough to provide some nourishment for Akira's weakened body.

Even in the potent darkness, my pet was able to locate the small bed in the corner almost instantly, and he shuffled pitifully to it before flopping down on the weary mattress with a noticeable lack of grace. The frame groaned beneath his weight as he groaned beneath the weight of his own exhaustion, and he absently kicked off his sneakers before curling into himself, his back to me as he slid closer to the wall. I chuckled lowly with a smirk when Akira reached behind himself, patting the empty space beside him in silence, urging me to come to his side. Shrugging free of my coat and removing my boots in a manner far more patient and organized than his own, I settled myself into the mattress, my body suddenly becoming heavy with a tiredness that I had been previously unaware of.

"Shiki," the grey-haired man hummed drowsily as his hand fumbled about, seeking out my own. He sighed with contentment when I placed my palm against the back of his hand, weaving our fingers together before tugging him firmly against my chest.

"What's the matter, pet?" I questioned, my words purring against his neck.

"I wanted to make sure that you hadn't left me."

"What a foolish thing to say, Akira," I rebuked gently as I deposited a chaste kiss on his shoulder, a bit too tired for wholehearted taunts. "I promised, remember? And plus, why would I leave what's mine behind, hmm? Foolish indeed – and wasteful. Now let me taste you, pet."

He responded with a sleepy scoff, but tugged our entwined hands up to his face, running his lips across my fingers before sinking his teeth into my knuckle, and I sucked in a mildly startled breath. Akira seemed pleased by my reaction and soothed the assaulted flesh with his tongue, frowning as I began to trail my hands down his delectable, lean body, eventually dipping beneath his belt. "Stop that. You said you'd let me sleep."

"Is that so?"

"Hmm," he nodded as he glanced over his shoulder at me, watching me carefully with lidded eyes and pressing his lips lightly to mine.

"I believe that was conditional. Now if you do not tell me how you wish to be taken, I will fuck you as _I_ like. And I am not in the mood for gentleness, Akira."

He sighed and nuzzled into his lumpy pillow, "Do whatever you like, I don't care."

The slight knot of arousal in my gut was suddenly tightened when he purred those words against my lips, and a startling tautness tore at my chest, some strange blending of emotions that I had not experienced in a long time boiling to the surface. One was vaguely familiar, as I could easily recall experiencing it the night before, while killing Nano. It ached in the most pleasant way, an elusive feeling that transcended the realm of the standard spectrum of human sentiment. It seemed to be borne in its weakest form from the union of lust and anxiety, or perhaps rather excitement melted with fear; and it was divine. At last I managed to identify it as pure, delectable _exhilaration._ The other was considerably more unsettling, as its identification was much less difficult to ascertain: _affection._ Regardless, I shooed my analytical musings from the forefront of my thoughts, electing instead to merely savor the succulent sensations provided by being in Akira's presence in such an intimate way.

"Are you sure that's a good idea, pet? I won't take responsibility for any damage done to that specimen of a body."

"If you'll leave me alone, then this is what I want, Shiki," Akira mumbled, turning to face me as I leaned over him, my presence bearing down upon his smaller frame as I claimed a kiss. "Just promise me something."

I drug my teeth over his lip, savoring his shudder when I spoke. "What might that be?"

"Just promise…" he began, suddenly becoming bashful and burying his face in the slope between my neck and shoulder. "Just promise that if I say 'stop', you will."

"What?" I queried, arching my brow curiously at his request. "I wouldn't hurt you, Akira."

"Promise?"

"Of course. But that doesn't mean I won't make you suffer…" I teased lowly as my fingers removed his belt, "from want."

"Shiki, you bastard. That's not fair," he hissed when I restrained his hands, admiring the lightly sculpted 'v' that descended into his jeans as I fastened his wrists to the bed frame above his head, and I chuckled with a smirk when he glared at me bitterly.

"'All is fair in love and war'," I purred, stripping off my own shirt before disrobing him entirely. "And this, pet, is certainly the latter."

"I fucking hate y—," he spat, swallowing the final remnants of his insult with a gasp when I took his arousal into my mouth, my tongue tracing lazy patterns across the smooth surface of his length. I continued to tease him for a while, sucking and bobbing my head, smirking around his arousal while he moaned and arched his back, his fingers curling as he fought against his leather binds. It was a study in futility, and watching my pet strain so delectably against his lust gave me a potent sense of satisfaction that seemed to sweeten even further his taste on my tongue. Though I wanted to bite him, to mark him as mine, to take him in that very instant at my own discretion, I refrained from such teasing and continued my assault with agonizing persistence.

"Shiki, dammit… please."

"Patience is a virtue, pet."

"What the hell do you know of virtues, you sadistic son of a bitch?"

He cried out with a sweet groan when I pushed a single finger into him, and his frame became a trembling mess as I drug the digit harshly across the tangle of nerves, causing him to moan and beg and struggle under the crushing weight of his desire. I added another and kissed him fervently, our tongues tying themselves together, our lips and teeth making the connection wickedly erotic, and I began to lose my prior restraint. Freeing my arousal from the confines of my unforgiving leather pants, my hand ghosted lightly from his hip and across his bare chest, coming to rest at his jugular, where I wrapped my fingers around his throat. He gasped, icy eyes growing wide with sudden apprehension, but he continued to seek out my attentions, attempting to find some relief by grinding his hips up against me. My digits persistently prodded and teased the knot of pleasure within him until he was rocking down on my hand desperately, his voice little more than panting breaths and weak, pleading moans.

"Shiki, I'm gonna…"

"No. You must wait until I'm inside you."

"I—I can't."

"Enough of your fussing," I warned, curling my fingers again and coaxing a string of groans and muffled curses to parade between his lips. "Wait, Akira."

"Shiki, no. Shiki stop… STOP!"

It seemed as if a switch deep within my cognizance had been promptly flipped at the sound of those words, and I froze instantaneously, my movements stilling as I cautiously removed my digits from within him. "Akira…."

"Untie me."

Gingerly, I leaned over him, tugging on the strap of the belt and allowing it to slip free, his wrists red and angry from his struggling. But before I could react or mumble out a reluctant apology, Akira had shoved me onto my back roughly, latching our lips together with surprising force as he straddled my hips. He carefully began to lower himself onto my length, whimpering softly at the sensation and wrenching his eyes tightly shut, sighing with relief as his thighs finally touched my own.

"Fuck… hurts."

I bit my lip when he started to roll his hips against me, rising and falling on me subtly and curling his blunt fingernails into the skin of my chest, leaving behind shallow scratches and red arcs in stark contrast to the paleness. Akira was beautiful – his expression delectable and his complexion flushed with a slight pink tint from exertion, grey locks falling in front of his closed eyes while his lips panted and hummed his contentment. Unable to resist, I placed my hand at the back of his skull, pulling him down to meet me for a kiss that was fierce but oddly gentle. The union of our lips conveyed far more than any fracture in the silence could, as it spoke basely of our passion, our desire, and the loneliness that we purged from each other's hearts. I thrust my hips up into him, my other hand landing on his back in order to keep his body firmly against my own as I savored his warmth. My fingers kneaded soothing circles into the sinewy muscles, tracing the delicate ridges of his spine like a cartographer mapping the Andes, the landscape lovely and rugged.

"I'm getting close…."

"As am I, pet," I panted in response as I closed my fist around his arousal.

"Ah!" Akira cried out after a certain jerk of my hips, "Do that again."

I quickly obliged, his walls tightening around me as he trembled in my arms, his breathing labored with lust and the impending strike of satiating climax. He moaned my name in a sweet voice as he reached his peak, guiding me to release shortly after, the sensation oddly smothering yet pleasant beyond measure. We met in a flurry of sloppy afterthoughts of kisses, his head falling against my chest as he trailed his lips along my collar and jugular, stopping to feel my pulse as I had done to him several days before.

"That was quite devious of you, Akira. Deceiving me so wickedly."

"Hmm. Now your heart is racing, Il-Re," the grey-haired man taunted with a smirk.

I chuckled at his snarky comment, brushing some wild fringe away from his eyes and leaving a light kiss on his temple. "You're the only one who can do that to me, pet. You should be proud, for it is no easy feat."

"You smug bastard," he scoffed, closing his eyes and laying heavily against my frame, his breathing soon becoming deep and monotonous.

"Sleep now, Akira."


	2. Chapter Two: War of Wills

{Merge}

{Chapter Two: War of Wills}

I awoke with a yawn, stretching my body like a cat and ignoring the retaliatory creaking of my bones. It seemed as though time had ceased to exist at the moment my eyes had fallen shut, my contentment and the warmth of Shiki's shirtless frame against mine allowing me to stumble gracelessly into a state of hibernation. The darkness of the bunker, while soothing and secure, remained so wholly devoid of light that determining the time of day seemed nearly impossible. Turning away from the wall, I blinked absently at the miniscule ray of illumination that poured through the cracked door at the top of the stairs; the apparent presence of day upon the world worsening my confusion.

"Shiki… how long have we been asleep?" I questioned weakly, snuggling over to his side of the bed, only to find it empty and lacking his lingering warmth. "Shiki?"

My muscles retaliated as I sat up suddenly, my unadjusted eyes darting frantically around the dim space, searching desperately for the lithe figure doused in black and ivory, the colors of midnight. "No…" my lips mumbled without my consent as I failed to find any sign of his presence; his boots, coat, and katana all suspiciously absent. "Shiki? Shiki?!"

"Pet," a low voice purred into my ear, the strong arms around my shoulders preventing me from jerking away in startled panic. Familiar lips against my throat and the vaguely persistent scent of blood and rain allowed my body to go slack and lean into the broad frame behind me, my anxiety reluctantly fading. "Easy, Akira."

"Where did you go? I thought you had left me."

He hummed in amusement and nipped my shoulder lightly, gently brushing his lips and tongue over my heated skin until he could at last deposit a soft kiss against my temple, making me shiver. "You've been asleep for two days, pet. There were several things that I needed to attend to while you were essentially comatose. Did I wear you out the other night?" the ghost of a man asked with a teasing grin.

Scoffing, I shoved him away and rose from my place on the bed, irked by his amused chuckle. "You could've told me that you were going out, asshole! I woke up and you weren't here, and I was…." My voice faded into the silence that hovered between us, and I cursed the flush of pink tint that rose to my cheeks as I cast away my gaze, staring absently at an empty corner.

"Were you afraid without me? Are you scared to be alone, Akira?" Shiki pried, his tone low and animalistic as he took prowling steps around me, his crimson eyes assessing my tensing body, one gloved hand trailing over my hips and lower back. I gasped as he stopped behind me, his thumb dipping beneath the waistband of by boxers while he nuzzled into my mess of unruly grey hair. "Did I not make you a promise, pet? A promise that I would not leave you?"

"You did. But I thought you were gone, Shiki."

"Am I not here now?"

I sighed and allowed my head to fall back against his shoulder, my eyes closing to avoid his scrutinizing glare. "Yeah, whatever. You're here _now_ , but _before_ … I didn't know where you were. I thought maybe the Nikkouren forces had found you."

"They did."

"W—what?! Shiki!" My pulse began to throb painfully in my chest as I turned to face him, fear concealed by anger churning in my stare. He seemed entirely un-phased by the violence of my reaction and merely stepped away, folding his arms defiantly over his broad chest and narrowing his gaze in irritation.

"They're all dead, so I don't see why it matters. I took in Nano's blood, remember? I'm exponentially more powerful than I was before, or have you forgotten?" Shiki hissed, displeased. "After all, I came back as soon as you called."

"Came back… as soon as I called?" I queried doubtfully, staring boldly into those haunting ruby eyes. "Where were you?"

With a weary sigh, he turned away from me and shrugged free of his coat, and I watched in mesmerized awe as the taut muscles of his back arcing and moving elegantly beneath his shirt; the offending fabric the only barrier between my lips and the porcelain skin it concealed. As if he could sense my stare fixed firmly on his person, Shiki stretched casually with a smirk, tugging his shirt over his head painfully slowly before discarding it on the floor. I struggled to maintain my stern expression as he faced me, lounging against the table behind him, his body lean and lethal like a cat. "About a quarter of a kilometer east when I heard you," he informed flatly.

My brows knitting together must have pleased him immensely, and a devious glint flashed in his scarlet eyes. "You could hear me from that far away and made it back here so quickly? Nano's power is incredible."

"It's my power now," Shiki reminded with a hiss. "Your voice sounded so pitiful, so desperate. Like you'd cry if I didn't come to your rescue. I considered taking my time returning… I think I'd enjoy taking in the sight of you with tears on your face again. So beautiful, so weak," his thumb brushed over my lips as he taunted me.

"Bastard," I spat, sitting heavily on the edge of the bed and rubbing my eyes, the sorrowful thoughts of Keisuke's blood dripping down my cheeks making my body feel exceptionally heavy. "I'm sure you think it's funny. 'Let's laugh at Akira's guilty conscience!' You know, not everyone can kill a person and then walk away like nothing happened the way you can, Shiki!"

After several moments of glaring at the beautiful man towering above me, I fought to settle my heaving breaths, wilting in embarrassment beneath his scrutiny and releasing a shuddering sigh. I dropped my gaze to the concrete beneath his boots and rose from my seat, throwing my shoulder roughly against his frame as I walked past, electing to lock myself in the shower for a while out of evasion. Shiki's strong palm on my chest forced me to cease my retreat, and I glanced to study the side of his face when his thumb began rubbing soothing circles against my skin. "Where are you going, Akira?" his low, exceptionally solemn voice questioned.

"To get away from you."

"Is that so?" he asked darkly, his ebony hair falling away from his eyes as he settled his haunting glare upon mine, causing me to recoil and suck in an anxious breath. The gloved hand that had been doting upon me so tenderly quickly rose to grasp my throat, shoving my smaller frame to the floor, his dark form hovering over me dangerously. I winced and bared my teeth, the concrete icy against my skin and my head throbbing from the impact, the darkness of unconsciousness flickering at the edges of my vision. "What do you really want? You beg me not to leave, make me promise – and now you wish to go? Do you intend to test me? Are you making light of the oath I made to you? You are the only person to whom I am accountable, Akira; you should be aware that I expect you to carry that burden. I am Il-Re – I make no guarantees and rarely even bother to speak the truth. And yet, for you alone will I do both. Do you understand, pet?"

"Shiki…." I had rarely ever heard him speak so genuinely, and though his candidness caused a slight warmth to bloom throughout my chest, the gravity of his statements made an anxious chill slice through my skin and bury itself into my bones. The ferocity in his glare began to ebb after several excruciatingly long instants, and was soon replaced by a bizarre fogginess that irked me with its ambiguity. Sadness, perhaps; or maybe loneliness. Dissatisfied by the inaccuracy of my assessment, I studied his piercing stare intently for a while, but was horrified by the exactitude of the conclusion at which I arrived. He was _disappointed._ Shiki was disappointed with me, and the haunting realization made my heart ache.

After a minute or two of staring at me blankly with dissatisfaction in his gaze, the deliciously muscled frame of the dark man above me retreated with solemnity, rising to his feet in silence and tugging his shirt back over his head. I leaned up on my elbows and clutched the back of my skull with a wince as I watched him, his body lithe and elegant as he reached for his coat and collected his katana from the tabletop. "I left to return to Toshima; to retrieve something," he said quietly while striding to the door, making a vague gesture to an object on the table which I had not noticed before. "A gift."

Shocked, I scrambled from the floor and flew to his side, wrapping my arms firmly around his waist and molding myself against his back, forehead resting between his firm shoulder blades. "Don't go. Stay, Shiki," my voice was much more submissive than I had intended, but I minded considerably less when he tensed within my grasp. Placing several kisses along the back of his neck, his shoulders, and nuzzling into his ebony hair, I allowed my hand to dip teasingly beneath his belt, his porcelain skin smooth like marble against my fingertips. He sighed when I whispered in his ear, coaxing him to cease his departure. "Stay. Come shower. You need to wash Toshima away – you feel dirty and I don't like it."

"Dirty, hmm?" he purred with amusement glinting in his eyes, his gaze settling heavily on mine as he looked at me over his shoulder. "Have you already forgotten that you are the reason I went back? What a rude thing to say, Akira."

Prying my arms from his body, Shiki shooed me away and towards the table, disregarding my wary glances as he laid his weapon and coat atop it, walking boldly past me into the small bathroom that adjoined the monastic bunker's main chamber. I stared after him absently for a while until the sound of water striking the tile floor met my ears, and I diverted my eyes, brows furrowing in confusion as he appeared behind me, fingers wandering beneath my shirt. "What is this?"

"It's yours," he hummed in my ear with contentment, guiding my hands to grasp one of the two sheathed blades that lie before us, nearly identical in appearance. My fingers curled around the scabbard and hilt of the katana at his bidding, the metallic sound of the weapon being freed from its confines slicing into the atmosphere as cleanly as the sword itself. I assessed it curiously for a moment, our reflections staring back at us in the mirror-like gleam of the pristine steel. Though I could feel his lips against my neck, the expression that the dark assassin wore gave me chills as I studied our images, my breath catching in my throat at the lovely sight of his haunting magnificence. Some strange form of gratification lingered on his face despite his closed eyes, and as it blended with an emotion that I could only identify as Shiki's own unique variety of affection, I felt a flitting warmth blossom in my chest, fickle like hummingbirds' wings. His voice was gentle and smooth as he spoke against my jaw, his words punctuated by stray kisses. "You looked so beautiful when you were wielding mine, so I thought that you should have your own. They are sibling blades – this one was forged alongside the one I carry, and they are very similar, though yours is a bit lighter and has less bulk with a slightly shorter blade. Having it made was a mere precaution, just in case some misfortune befell the original. But I think it belongs in your hands, do not you agree?"

"Shiki… I can't—"

"Accept it, Akira. I want you to be able to defend yourself when I'm gone."

The katana clattered against the wooden tabletop when I quickly released it from my grasp and yanked free of Shiki's arms, glaring at him angrily as he assessed me with a mildly startled expression. "Are you planning on going somewhere, bastard?"

"Of course not."

"Prove it!"

"Prove it?" he asked lowly, his gaze narrowing as he addressed my accusation, as if threatening me to repeat myself and confirm what he had heard. Suddenly, his weight was pressed roughly against me and I found myself trapped firmly between his taut frame and the table, the edge of the surface biting into the backs of my thighs. "You want me to prove how much I want you? How badly I wish I could consume that body of yours; to not let go?"

"Why are you being so intense? I was just upset, okay?" I stammered awkwardly, leaning my weight back on my hands in a pitiful effort to evade the oppressive aura of seriousness that burned in his eyes like wildfire. "Shiki, please… calm down."

Scowling, he took a reluctant step back to permit his scrutinizing stare to scan my expression, roughly grabbing my wrist in a crushing grasp and dragging me behind him into the bathroom, the shower's steam fogging my thoughts. "Akira…" he mumbled, his tone dark and dripping with erotic sensuality when he pressed me against the wall, ridding us both of our clothes and claiming a deliciously violent kiss, our tongues tying knots and teeth leaving brutal marks in each other's lips. "Why do you doubt me so easily?"

"You're Il-Re," I replied between panting breaths, moaning and arching against him as his sighs danced over the skin of my throat, "why would I trust you?"

"Because," he groaned when I tugged him into the shower, the scalding water sharpening my senses to each of his ghosting touches, "you know that you can. Don't you, pet?"

Though a miniscule gasp fled from my lips, rolling from my tongue, I gaped and shied away when Shiki dropped to his knees before me, trailing ginger kisses over my slender hips and abdomen, suddenly taking my arousal into his mouth. "W—what?!"

"Trust me."

He smirked at the half-hearted bitterness of my glare, coiling his tongue around my length painfully slowly, hollowing his cheeks for mere teasing instants before swallowing me deeply, causing my knees to buckle as I grasped his shoulders for support. My hands kneaded into the taut muscle and my eyes fluttered shut with a moan, the strength of his body making me feel small and safe in his presence, and my fingers brushed lightly over his cheeks and wove into his hair affectionately. "Shiki, why are you doing this?"

Pulling away, the scarlet stare of the phantasmal creature below me seemed oddly soft and gentle as he leaned into my touch, purring with contentment, "I want to."

Shiki took my hand carefully in his, dusting each fingertip with kisses before resuming my pleasure, his tongue tracing sensual patterns along my arousal as his unoccupied hand trailed along the back of my thigh, teasing my entrance. A brief instant of discomfort throbbed in my lower spine when one finger pressed into me, curling and massaging me with delectable accuracy before adding another. Clutching tighter to his body, I tangled my digits roughly into his ebony hair as a wanton moan spilled from my lips, arching and grinding onto the intruding fingers when he drug one over the knot of pleasure within me.

"There?" Il-Re teased cruelly, repeating the motion with greater force and holding me tightly to his chest as I slid to the icy tile floor, my body no longer capable of supporting itself under his expert ministrations. He hissed sensually into my ear, biting the lobe before soothing it with a soft lash of his tongue, "Turn away."

I willingly complied, turning away from him and dropping onto my knees and forearms, arching against the strength of his fingers as they kneaded soothing circles into my back, his motions mirroring each other in perfect symmetry. After several minutes, I could feel his chest mere centimeters above my back as he pushed his own heated arousal into me, and the pleasant ache of being so wholly filled made me cry out. Placing an easy kiss on my shoulder, Shiki laid his hands alongside mine on the shower floor, sliding them beneath my fingers and coaxing me to weave them with his own. "Here. Displace your pain onto me," he cooed, barely wincing as I enclosed his hands in a crushing grasp. "Good, pet. Just like that – let me feel what you feel. Tell me what it feels like when I'm inside of you, Akira. Tell me."

"You're… you're so warm, Shiki," I responded with a tremor in my voice. "It feels like we're one person, it feels good."

"Tell me everything," he purred as he thrust into me and I cried out, jerking my hands into fists around his. "Tell me exactly what to do to make you want me."

"I—I already want you," I sighed with a pitiful moan, shuddering as he shoved demandingly into my firm heat. "A little deeper. Please… just a little…."

Savoring his every touch, I strained to memorize the blazing paths carved over my flesh by his hands and lips and tongue, charting an irreversible map in my mind, begging to recall each moment spent in his clutches. My arms shook as I fought to straighten my elbows, rounding my back against Shiki's chest and whining, the minor shift allowing him strike the tangle of pleasurable ache inside me more consistently. He hummed against my skin, leaving messy, possessive kisses along my neck and spine before resting his forehead between my shoulder blades as his breaths grew increasingly more ragged, falling into frantic unison with my own. Though the dark specter of a man concealed his suffering exceptionally well, I could sense the agony he caused himself in his efforts at restraint with each spasm in the powerful muscles of his arms and erratic jerk of his hips; efforts that were doubtlessly for my sake alone. The oppressive aura that he donned naturally like a cloak of shadow seemed far less present in moments like this, and I reveled in his vulnerability. It was barely noticeable at all, and yet, my growing familiarity with him and our constant near proximity permitted me to glimpse into his truth, like staring into the colorful warping of the glass of a marble. Every miniscule trait seemed obscure and concordantly glaringly apparent, and in those of weakness, his mere presence reminded me of how exceptional Shiki truly was. His existence was woven snugly from the vilest and most beautiful modes of perfection, and it wildly enhanced my fondness and desire – though I was unsure if he was softening or if I was absorbing his latent psychosis.

"How do you feel, pet? Can you feel the tightness in your hips, waiting for me to give you permission to come? Tell me, Akira," his husky voice danced into my ear, causing me to shiver as I was torn from my musings.

"Shiki, go slow," I mumbled in reply, turning my head so as to taste the divine sweetness of his lips on the edge of my mouth when he complied, the motions of his body languid and steady, allowing me to rock back to meet him. Grinding and rolling my hips, the fresh sensation of his arousal moving within me in a novel way urged the apex of my pleasure to simmer forth, pooling in my gut. "Slow. I want to feel you come first."

"Akira…."

A groan of provocation spilled from his tongue, rumbling deep within his chest as he knotted his fingers viciously into the mess of grey hair at my nape, pulling me back and burying himself deeply into my body, the warmth of his release deliciously pleasant. Soon, the erotic quality of his tone and powerful, dominating frame gave way to my own completion as he stroked my neglected arousal gingerly with teasing touches. Moans of ecstasy that sounded entirely foreign to my ears tumbled freely from my tongue, and it felt as if I was watching my reflection in a shattering mirror. The person that I became in the moment of climax, hot and tainted with the scent of sex, existed only within that instant; that wanton being surging away with my release, the mirror breaking as he faded with the sensation.

"Shiki," I said softly, leaning against him beneath the shower stream and savoring the hot droplets of water as they struck my equally heated skin. He hummed quietly in acknowledgement, hands absently roaming over my body as he bathed me, the lather of the soap he had procured nearly as luxurious as the kisses he sprawled haphazardly over my back. "I'm sorry that I was so upset earlier… I think I was just scared that you were gone, too. That you left me."

"I'm not going anywhere, pet. Not without you."

"And thank you for the katana; but I'm still angry at you for running off to do something so dangerous."

"It suits you. And cease your griping, nothing would've happened to me."

I sighed when his palms trailed over my lower abdomen, dousing my flushed skin with fresh water and sending the cleansing foam spiraling into the drain. My fingers wove into his dripping ebony hair and I claimed a sensual, but needy kiss, dragging my tongue over his lower lip and nipping him playfully. "We should go somewhere beautiful. I don't know where, but I remember some places from the old geography books that we had at the orphanage."

"I will take you wherever you care to go. I hope to depart at nightfall, so we must rest a bit more before we leave."

"Sure," I hummed, sinking against Shiki's muscled frame in satiated contentment. Placing a chaste kiss on my temple, he turned off the shower tap, stray droplets ticking angrily as they fell against the tile floor, and he hoisted me to my feet, drying my flesh carefully and settling us both back into bed, his chest pressed protectively against my back. Though I begged to some unseen god that he had not heard my pitiful mumbles of adoration when he folded his arms around me, I could feel him smirk into my shoulder in smug acknowledgement. "I guess anywhere is beautiful if you're there, too, Shiki."

Okay guys, sorry it's been such a long time. I'll be updating _Merge_ soon, I just needed to finish up _Accord_ and a few other things first.

Soon, promise!

Meadie out.


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